1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel holder which fixes a liquid crystal display panel on a circuit board. The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 10-108035 (filed on Apr. 17, 1998), which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display panel used for an electronic equipment or the like is connected to a circuit board within the electronic equipment through a rubber connector (a prismatic rubber consisting of conductive rubbers and insulating rubbers disposed in the conductive rubber in a striped form) arranged between the liquid crystal display panel and the circuit board. For this reason, a structure shown in an exploded view of FIG. 4 has conventionally been used as a liquid crystal display panel holder for fixing the liquid crystal display panel on the circuit board. In FIG. 4, a rubber connector 101 and a liquid crystal display panel 102 are surmounted on a circuit board 100, and the liquid crystal display panel 102 is covered by a frame-shaped press plate 103. Legs 103a formed at the four corners of the press plate 103 are engaged with engagement holes 100b formed in the circuit board 100 while the press plate 103 is pressed toward the circuit board 100 against the elastic force of the rubber connector 101. By this configuration, the rubber connector 101 is pressed onto terminals formed on the back surface of the liquid crystal display panel 102 an electrode (land) 100a formed on the circuit board 100.
However, according to the conventional liquid crystal display panel holding structure, since the press plate 103 merely covers the rubber connector 101 and the liquid crystal display panel 102 surmounted on the circuit board 100, the assembling worker must adjust the position of the rubber connector 101 manually. Therefore, the conventional liquid crystal display panel holder has problems in that the efficiency of the assembling work for fixing the liquid crystal display panel 102 is low and in that the shift of position or tilt of the rubber connector 101 results in poor conduction between the conductive rubber of the rubber connector 101 and the terminals of the liquid crystal display panel 102 or the electrode 100a of the circuit board 100.
Although, in order to solve the above problems, protrusions for positioning the rubber connector 101 on the circuit board 100 might be formed projectingly, the formation of these protrusions reduces the manufacturing efficiency etc. of the circuit board 100, so that such a structure is difficult to be adopted.
An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display panel holder which can solve the above problems, which can be realized merely by slightly changing the conventional manufacturing process of a press plate without reducing the manufacturing efficiency etc. of the circuit board, and which can securely effect the positioning and prevention of tilt of the rubber connector, by which the efficiency of assembly work can be improved.
A first aspect of the liquid crystal display panel holder in accordance with the present invention is a liquid crystal display panel holder for fixing the liquid crystal display panel on the circuit board. The liquid crystal display panel holder comprises a press plate having a rectangular frame portion in contact with the top surface of the liquid crystal display panel, a first rib formed so as to project from an edge of the frame portion, second and third ribs formed so as to project from edges adjacent to both sides of the edge at which the first rib is formed projectingly, and the press plate having holding portion which is formed so as to project from the second or third ribs and extend in parallel with the first rib. The liquid crystal display panel holder also comprises prismatic rubber connector which is inserted between the first rib and the holding portion and holds the liquid crystal display panel between itself and the frame portion and fixing mechanism fixing the press plate to the circuit board in a state in which the rubber connector is deformed elastically.
Being thus-configured, since the rubber connector is inserted between the first rib and the holding portion while holding the liquid crystal display panel between the rubber connector and the frame portion, the rubber connector is held and positioned by the first rib and the holding portions. Therefore, in the process of assembly, the position of the rubber connector is not shifted with respect to the liquid crystal display panel and the rubber connector does not fall down. Therefore, the efficiency of assembly work is improved.
In a second aspect of the liquid crystal display panel holder in accordance with the present invention, the fixing mechanism includes a plurality of legs provided integrally with the press plate and which are provided integrally with the press plate and inserted into a plurality of holes formed in the circuit board.
In a third aspect of the liquid crystal display panel holder in accordance with the present invention, the leg has, at the tip end thereof, a hook caught by an opening edge of the hole on the back surface side of the circuit board.
In a fourth aspect of the liquid crystal display panel holder in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a space having a width approximately equal to the width of the rubber connector between the holding portion and the first rib By this configuration, the worker can insert the rubber connector between the first rib and the holding portion with a small force without strong force pushing the rubber connector while elastically deforming it.
In a fifth aspect of the liquid crystal display panel holder in accordance with the present invention, the holding portion are formed by bending the end portions of the second or third ribs adjacent to the first rib in parallel with the first rib. By this configuration, the whole portion of the press plate can be formed from one plate at a time by pressing.
In a sixth aspect of the liquid crystal display panel holder in accordance with the present invention, the end portion of the second or third rib adjacent to the first rib is divided into two portions by a slit in parallel with the frame portion, and the portion between the slit and an edge of the rib is bent, thereby forming the holding portions.
In a seventh aspect of the liquid crystal display panel holder in accordance with the present invention, the edge of the second or third rib between the frame portion and the slit adjacent to the first rib is closer to the first rib than the bend position of the holding portion.
In an eighth aspect of the liquid crystal display panel holder in accordance with the present invention, a protrusion is formed on a surface of the first rib at a location facing the holding portion, and the distance between the pole of the protrusion and the holding portion is smaller than the width of the rubber connector. By this configuration, while the rubber connector can be inserted with a small force, the rubber connector is prevented from coming off from the press plate.